Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has approved the release

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has approved the release of 1,500 Taliban prisoners as part of efforts to secure a peace deal with the insurgent group.

The presidential decree requires all prisoners to give “a written guarantee to not return to the battlefield”.

Talks between the Afghan government and Taliban will take place in parallel with the release. If talks progress, the government has pledged to free 500 more Taliban prisoners every two weeks until a total of 5,000 have been released.